Some cities have passed laws providing for domestic partnerships, which can apply to homosexual couples, and heterosexual couples, who are living together without being married. To become domestic partners, the partners must register their relationship at a government office and declare that they are in a "committed" relationship. Domestic partnerships provide some--but not all--of the legal benefits of marriage. Some of the common benefits are the right to coverage on a family health insurance policy, the right to family leave to take care of a sick partner (to the same extent a person would be able to use family leave to care for a sick spouse), bereavement leave, visiting rights to hospitals and jails, and rent control benefits (to the same extent a spouse would retain reduced rent if his or her partner died.)

In most states, no. In times past, particularly in the frontier days, it was common for states to consider a woman and man to be married if they lived together for a certain length of time, had sexual intercourse, and held themselves out as husband and wife, even though they never went through a marriage ceremony. Today, only nine states recognize common-law marriages. In those states, in order for there to be a legal common-law marriage, the partners must clearly represent themselves to others as being husband and wife; merely living together is not enough to create a marriage.

In states that recognize a common-law marriage, the partners have the same rights and duties as if there had been a ceremonial marriage. Most other states will accept as valid a common-law marriage that began in a state that recognizes common-law marriage.

A legal common-law marriage may end only with a formal divorce. There is no such thing as a "common-law divorce."